The little b******s kept us away from Arillas for four years. Jen was so ill and had seventeen blisters lanced, some of them two inches across... She still carries the scars all over her legs.
DEET is a chemical substance that seems to prevent them from attacking your skin, rather than reducing the effects. Tony's link might boggle your mind, and the diagram of the structure is wrong on wiki. But in the end who cares. Use DEET sprays and remember, when you are just going out for the evening, beware. You are all washed and dressed up for a fabulous Arillas meal, you are wearing your sexiest outfit that shows more than it should... (well I usually do lol)
It isn't the men you need to look out for (most of us there are past it anyway....) it is the mozzies. That's when you get bit.
Jen now seems to have it beaten. But never lets her guard down. Me? They hate me. Like your son Tony, I have never been bitten by one.
And Sara luvver, Jen had one of those and it was useless. Don't waste your money.
Phil